Global Proppants Market - 2022-2029

Market Overview

The Proppants Market reached US$ XX million in 2021 and is expected to record significant growth by reaching up to US$ XX million by 2029, growing at a CAGR of 10.20% during the forecast period (2022-2029)

Proppants are additives introduced to drilling fluid during hydraulic fracturing or fracking to keep the fractures open. Sand or other gritty material that halts in water-based or other types of drilling fluid can be used as a proppant. The proppant material could be artificial or naturally occurring and comes in various sizes for various situations in wellbores. Proppants are carefully sorted for size and roundness to increase the efficiency of reservoir production.

Even though proppants have been used since the concept of modern fracing was developed nearly 70 years ago, proppant, in their use as part of the process of hydraulic fracturing or "fracing," is hailed as one of the most impactful oilfield innovations of the twenty-first century due to specific technological advancements over the last 30 years that have revolutionized the industry. Today's proppant solutions help improve well production capacity by combining better drilling techniques with ultra-sophisticated frac designs, delivering more oil and natural gas daily.

Market Dynamics

The market will be driven by Growing hydraulic fracing, improvements in fracturing technology and growing exploration of unconventional oil and gas reserves. However, contaminations associated with fracing and growing environmental awareness could be a major market restraint.

Growing hydraulic fracing, improvements in fracturing technology and growing exploration of unconventional oil and gas reserves

Over the last decade, countries such as U.S., China, Canada, India and Russia have experienced high demand for oil and gas. Due to the scarcity of conventional oil and gas and their high carbon footprint, the production of unorthodox oil and gas such as shale oil and gas, tight oil and gas and coalbed methane has increased. Horizontal drilling is accomplished vertically until a shale layer is reached. At this point, the drill bit turns sideways and extends the well outward, allowing a long lateral segment of pipe to be installed to reach hydrocarbon-rich shale. Shale is impermeable by nature, which means it lacks naturally occurring fissures through which oil and natural gas can flow. To begin production, the well must be "completed," which is a separate phase in the drilling process that involves making perforations along the entire length of the lateral wellbore. During the completion (fracing) phase, a high-pressure mixture of water, chemicals and proppant is forced into the wellbore, fracturing the shale and allowing petroleum liquids to flow through the perforations.

Exploration and production businesses are developing with more sand per stage in their drilled and completed horizontals, which is expected to accelerate over time. Technologies are being developed to increase the use of natural sand/frac sand rather than ceramic sand, resulting in high demand for drilling proppants. The use of frac sand reduces raw material costs by more than half. As a result, major shale plays are willing to experiment with and install new equipment and technologies, thereby boosting the demand for various types of proppants.

Contaminations associated with fracing and growing environmental awareness

Hydraulic fracturing is the most common application for proppants and water accounts for 98 percent to 99.5 percent of the fracturing fluid used in hydraulic fracturing. Companies typically use a variety of water sources, including rivers, lakes, groundwater, wastewater treatment plant discharge water and re-used fracturing water. Water is transported to drilling sites using temporary pipelines or trucks. Companies try to use various water sources based on the region and proximity of water sources. Hydraulic fracturing requires approximately 3 million gallons of water per well. This quantity, however, varies greatly across regions. It also depends on how many fracturing stages are performed at a well. There are two distinct issues regarding water use in hydraulic fracturing. First, water is scarce for hydraulic fracturing; second, there are concerns about water contamination from fracturing chemicals.

In modernity, with growing environmental concerns and awareness associated with water scarcity, many governments and activities have come to the forefront to eliminate processes that harm water bodies and the environment. Serious regulations are also set up across the globe for the same cause. Since fracing contaminates water bodies and consumes millions of gallons of water, it is facing major backlashes and red tapes. As a result, contaminations associated with fracing and growing environmental awareness is a major market restraint for the global proppants market as fracing is the major consumer for proppants.

COVID-19 Impact Analysis

The volume of the proppants market fell in 2020 due to the oil price crash caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The unprecedented demand shock in the oil industry in 2020 resulted in a historic drop in oil prices, as governments around the world shut down businesses, mandated stay-at-home policies and restricted travel. Oil prices began the year strongly, but by April, the impact of reduced economic activity around the world had formed an excess supply of oil globally and oil prices plummeted precipitously.

Another major contributor to the drop in oil prices was the oil price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia, which began in early March when both countries failed to agree on oil production levels. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) failed to act quickly to reduce oil production to mitigate lower demand, causing oil prices to fall to their lowest levels in more than 20 years.

Further, the pandemic COVID-19, like any other market, had a negative impact on the global proppants market during its initial waves because the production of the proppants was disrupted and industrial-scale synthesis of proppants requires massive machinery, large-scale industrial reagents and skilled workers. During the pandemic, industry lockdowns and social distancing requirements severely hampered production. The global lockdown imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic hampered both the supply of raw materials necessary to manufacture proppants and the supply of finished products. As a result, the demand-supply dynamics in the proppants market were severely impacted.

Segment Analysis

The global proppants market is classified based on type, application and region.

An increasing number of oil and gas wells use the hydraulic fracturing process to boost the frac sand demand and sales

Frac sand is quartz sand with very round grains that are high in purity. It is extremely durable and provides a crush-resistant material for hydraulic fracturing in the oil and gas industry. Rock units made up of quartz grains that have been weathered and eroded multiple times are potential sources of frac sand material. Most mineral grains other than quartz have been removed during this evolution, resulting in grains with very round shapes. Frac sand holds the fractures open by forming a network of pore spaces through which petroleum fluids can flow out of the rock and into the well. Although other types of proppants are available, frac sand frequently provides the best performance depending on the type of well.

Frac sand is a popular proppant that applies at 6,000 psi closure pressure. Frac sand has a large share of the proppant market and is the preferred proppant when oil prices fall and E&P operators need to reduce production costs. Frac sand demand has recently skyrocketed as many oil and gas wells use hydraulic fracturing. A single hydraulic fracturing well can consume thousands of tonnes of frac sand. The surge in specialized drilling has created a billion-dollar frac sand industry in just a few years.

Geographical Analysis

Growing mining and oilfield activities in Asia-Pacific along with rich raw material availability

Domestic natural gas production will rise in major Asia-Pacific economies as a result of the region's shale gas development. Shale gas extraction is expected to improve the region's energy security by reducing reliance on external sources. However, shale gas development is in its early stages. Countries are extracting shale gas from their shale gas reserves using advanced technology, primarily driven by China. Shale gas extraction is risky and more expensive than conventional gas production. The extraction process is expected to be environmentally friendly, cost-effective and socially responsible. The Asia-Pacific region is the world's largest producer of coalbed methane. China, India, Indonesia, Australia and Japan, among other countries, have large reserves of coalbed methane. The region's coalbed methane production is driven by the region's limited conventional natural gas reserves and high international natural gas prices. Australia is the region's leader in the high commercial production of coalbed methane. These countries have significant shale gas reserves and a large supply of raw materials such as bauxite, alumina and kaolin used to make ceramic proppants. As a result, growing mining and oilfield activities in Asia-Pacific and rich raw material availability ensure the region's dominance in the respective market.

Competitive Landscape

In terms of global and local producer numbers and strengths, the global proppants market is extremely competitive due to the presence of major players such as Carbo Ceramics Inc, COVIA, JSC Borovichi Refractories Plant, U.S. Silica Holdings Inc, Hi-Crush Inc, Mineracao Curimbaba, Emerge Energy Services LP, Xinmi Wanli Industry Development Co., Ltd, Atlas Sand Company and HEXION. The market is fragmented and pivotal market stakeholders use market tactics such as mergers, acquisitions, product launches, contributions and collaborations to gain a competitive advantage and recognition in their respective markets.

Hexion

Overview: Hexion, headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, is a major manufacturer of thermoset resins. Hexion provides thermoset technologies, specialty products and technical support to customers in a wide range of applications and industries. Hexion is divided into two divisions: Epoxy, Phenolic, Coating Resin and Forest Products. Hexion is owned by Apollo Global Management, LLC-affiliated investment funds. Chemical Intermediates, Civil Engineering, Abrasives, Adhesives, Coatings, Composites, Engineered Wood, Fertilizers and Pesticides, Crop Protection, Electrical/Electronics, Fibers and Textiles, Furniture, Molding Compounds, Oilfield, Foams, Friction Materials oriented Strand Board, Plywood and Laminated Veneer Lumber, Particleboard and Fiberboard and Refractories are some of the applications for which Hexion produces product's finds application.

Product Portfolio:

• PropShield: Proppant flow back control additive is a low-cost liquid agent for uncoated frac sand completions. The product is a one-of-a-kind solution applied on-site at the blender tub with a standard liquid additive pump and is appropriate for various sand mesh sizes, is compatible with most commonly used fracturing fluids and works over a broad range of bottom-hole temperatures.
• OilPlus: OilPlus proppants are sophisticated, treatable resin-coated fracturing sand in mesh sizes 16/30, 20/40, 30/50 and 40/70. OilPlus proppants are used in fracturing treatments in oil and liquid-rich reservoirs. Compared to conventional proppants, the product's unique resin coating system enhances permeability to oil in the proppant pack, leading to higher oil production. OilPlus proppants provide all of the benefits derived from a stress-bondable, resin-coated proppant and improve oil production.

In many major basins across North America, Hexion's OilPlus proppants consistently outperform traditional proppants. These advanced proppants have been field-tested in over 1,000 wells, totaling one billion pounds. OilPlus proppant users can expect better wells, including higher initial production (IP), higher cumulative production, lower cost per BOE and a higher return on investment (ROI).

Key Development:

• Prime Plus, a new proppant that is an improved, curable resin-coated sand available in 16/30, 20/40, 30/50 and 40/70 mesh sizes, was introduced by Hexion on July 18, 2022. These proppants are intended for usage in North America's major basins, where high performance is required.

Why Purchase the Report?

• To visualize the global proppants market segmentation based on type, application and region, as well as understand key commercial assets and players.
• Identify commercial opportunities in the global proppants market by analyzing trends and co-development.
• Excel data sheet with numerous data points of proppants market-level with four segments.
• PDF report consisting of cogently put together market analysis after exhaustive qualitative interviews and in-depth market study.
• Product mapping available as excel consisting of key products of all the major market players

The global proppants market report would provide approximately 53 tables, 47 figures and almost 150 pages.

Application Audience 2023

• Manufacturers/ Buyers
• Industry Investors/Investment Bankers
• Research Professionals
• Emerging Companies